Bash Compactor: Rock It Science

I wasn’t sure what to expect from The Rock-It Science Festival at the Highline Ballroom on Tuesday night. The line-up was diverse, sort of like the random matrix theory of probability. Rufus Wainwright, guitarist Lenny Kaye, Dee Snider of Twisted Sister and former American Idol contestant Constantine Maroulis were there. Then you had a bunch of real live scientists who also like to rock it, in between their day jobs of researching the human genome and being cognitive neuroscientists. On top of that, there’s the lovely Australian go-go dancer and singer Anna Copacabanna, who served as emcee.

Well, the eclecticism did show signs of strain. My friend Joseph said it felt like we were in a cocktail lounge at a suburban Holiday Inn. James, an Australian doctoral student of Latin literature, found Copacabanna’s incessant repetition of the word “Australia” incredibly grating. Of course, she pranced around the stage in a succession of skimpy sparkly showgirl outfits telling bad jokes, and warbled wavering notes accompanied by a xylophone. “It would have helped if she’d explained the lead singer of the band A Thousand Days,

Pardis Sabetti, was one of the world's leading biochemists.” Even better, she’s a Rhodes scholar who’s a good-looking blonde. Our friends Stefanos and Nicole left in exasperation after two hours to get an overpriced dinner at the Gotham Bar and Grill.

All I know is we were sitting there for two hours debating about leaving or not since, although the bands were decent musicians, the term “amateur night” came to mind. I didn’t blame the scientists for sounding like a drabber version of the Eagles. The Amygaloids are billed on MySpace as “Heavy Mental songs for mind and brain.” They ain’t kidding.

But patience is a virtue, and those of us who remained were rewarded by hearing Rufus Wainwright come out and sing 8 songs from his repertoire: “Sanssouci,” “Pretty Things,” “The Art Teacher,” “Going to a Town,” “In My Arms,” “Beautiful Child” and “Hallelujah.”
 In the middle of his set, he cheerfully confessed, "I failed every science course I ever took," despite his mother’s degree in physics. I guess evolution has a ways to go. The Highline Ballroom is a small intimate space and Wainwright’s crystal clear voice filled the room and bathed it in warmth.  Dude, that’s what they call the science of acoustics!